Cheap Thrills

Now what does this title say to you?

a.) .mac's cheap.

b.) She's a floozy.

c.) A little bit slim shady.

d.) She's totally lost her mind.

Well, 2 out of 4 are what I would like to call accurate.

I'm going with A and D.

Ummm, let's hope you are too.

Like the crushed velvet pair of violet colored grouchos I have crammed in the back of my closet, so has this idea been in my mind.

So with this 31 post promise holding me on the accountable tip, I thought I would yank it out from in and about the twisted wire hangers, shake out the wrinkles with a little water bottle/dryer action, and put it on so to speak.

Cheap Thrills is just exactly what shopping at Goodwill and yard sales is to me. You cannot beat the price you are going to pay nor the joy you are going to find on the hunt for the look for less.

Finding quality brand name clothing as well as fashion rewinds that can become fashion forwards is totally a doable concept. I am living proof of this. In the 3 photos you see in the post advertisement, everything I have on with the exception of the cowboy boots and the puce flats came from Goodwill. EVERYTHING with those 2 exceptions.

The above picture is to show you what a typical Goodwill 1/2 off weekend shopping experience looks like for me and my gang. (1/2 weekend being the 1st Saturday of every month. The entire store is 1/2 off.) We are one dynamite trio when it comes to making Goodwill work. It's like the girls and I have some unwritten code and set regulations that we all faithfully follow. It is not until now that these unspoken Goodwill constants have even been penned.

Goodwill Hunting

1. Come with an attitude to celebrate.
2. A look to replicate.
3. A body part to accentuate.
4. A color to advocate.

We share our hopes for the above. Be it the color we are after, a staple piece that we need in our wardrobe, the waistline or neckline perhaps we want to exaggerate, or a clipping from a magazine of a look we want to make a reality on our style spreadsheet, we talk it out. Then...

• We stick together. (only about a 2 row distance at most)
• We are educated. (we know every one's size; the 3 of us are clear on who is a medium but who quite possibly could do a small or vice versa. Yeah, we're that good.)
• We communicate. (be it a holler across an aisle with a shirt held in the air, we 3 are in cahoots on the look for less.)
• We practice the gut-n-grab. (if you glance at it more than 2 seconds as you are doing the rack shuffle, it goes in the buggy. One doesn't worry about the stack to try on, one only considers the deals she is finding.)

This shot is evidence of a gut-n-grab in action. Straight slipped them right on my waist and kept them there until time for trying on. There is no time for insecurities when it comes to the look for less.

Sarah, Arlene, and myself really utilize Banana Republic, Boden, and Anthropologie as resources for looks to replicate. We also scan the Gap and Target front shelves too. Any tear out pictures or magazine take-along are encouraged to master the details behind the look.

A little less talk?

More proof?

You got it! These were videos the girls and I documented back in the fall from our Goodwill 1/2 weekend and yard sale hunt. We hope you enjoy the proof in this pudding:

Now how inspired are you to get out there for some Cheap Thrills of your own?

Good deals.

Good friends.

Good times.

Goodwill.

Go gettum, ladies!

It's 1/2 off weekend tomorrow!

.mac :)